Recently the Sharks signed up Lionel Mapoe and, if some media reports are to be believed, look set for yet another court battle, this time with the mighty Free State Union. This prompted some to suggest that Sharks are unethical player poachers and the worst of all acting against “Valid”. I am somewhat surprised why legal disputes around players contracts are so frowned upon and why “Valid” is believed to be right. Let me explain…

Contracts are omnipresent in our lives. We contract all the time, buying bread and milk from a local supermarket, posting a comment at Sharksworld we contractually agree to comply with its rules and regulations. The fact that most of us go to work is due to our employment contract.

Generally, contracts do not have to be in writing to be valid (with some specific exceptions for example the agreement to sell an immovable property have to be in writing). Some contracts are concluded orally, some by mouse clicking and some through access. Yes, by hopping on a bus you actually contract with the owner of a bus.

My point is … considering the amount of contracts being concluded no wonder that there is litigation concerning them.

Let’s talk about employment contracts for a minute. Ordinarily one spends 8 hours a day at work, this is one third of our day (I know some poor sods are less lucky and this time gets stretched somewhat). Factoring in sleeping time one is justified in concluding that we spend a hell of a lot of our time working.

My point is … considering the amount of time that one spends working no wonder that there is litigation concerning it.

In fact there is plenty of it. The CCMA, a forum established to deal with employment matters is close to being bankrupt as they fail to handle ever increasing volume of cases. And this institution exists in addition to a number of bargaining councils for specific industries and labour courts.

This is the context in which one must view court cases pertaining to contracts of professional players. I am using the word “professional” here to denote a person who is being paid for services he renders. The sport of rugby entered the era of professionalism and although we still expect players to love their job and perform it with passion and commitment we also expect them to perform up to a certain level because this is what they are being paid for.

My point is … considering that professional rugby players conclude contracts for rendering their services, which in many respects are similar to the employment relation no wonder that there is litigation concerning them.

Let’s now tackle my problematic Mr Valid. One of the reasons why he caught my attention was because I do not think that many rugby journalists or administrators have much of a legal knowledge to speak of. It’s fine if they don’t because it’s not really expected of them but perhaps before sending some statements into the air it may be good to check a few things.

Mr Valid is a member of a contract family. A contract is an agreement to create obligations between contracting parties. In order for a contract to become Mr Valid there need to be an agreement between persons who have capacity to act, performance of the obligation must be possible and legal. This is it, the sum total of requirements that make Mr Valid special. Let’s note that there is no need to use of any standard templates.

Most of us remember Jacque Fourie saga. Jacque apparently did not have a valid contract with the Lions as some sort of a technical advisor. Perhaps this particular contract was invalid because it was not possible for Jacque to render such services. The fact is though that for many years he played for the Lions and received salary for it and if you ask me there was a contract, but perhaps not a written one.

My point is … existence of a valid contract does not prejudge the matter yet.

This is just the beginning, as now Mr Valid enters the real world. In this world perhaps the union X didn’t pay the player Y as much as he was promised in his Valid contract or perhaps he did not get time off for Easter. Perhaps union X is upset that the player did not score those 4 tries that he was contractually obliged to. Perhaps, perhaps…one of the hundred and one situations occurred and the party did not act in accordance with their agreement.

Perhaps the details of these situations were not revealed to the press but will be disclosed in the court proceedings should the union or the player decide to go this route. The rules of disclosure and the offence of contempt of court or perjury are there to safeguard the due process.

My point is…we do not really know so perhaps we should wait to hear what the court has to say.

So far the Sharks have not lost the case over Mapoe. They were not even taken to the court on this one.

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gm bmb

Comment 6, posted at 24.05.10 10:44:13 by sharks_lover

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oh lets turn ya upright wpw

Comment 7, posted at 24.05.10 10:44:50 by sharks_lover

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@FireTheLooser (Comment 1) : We should thank the sharks
I had a break in at home the other day, cleaned me out, but I am really gratefull to the thieves, because they exposed a loophole in my security system that I am now able to close

Comment 8, posted at 24.05.10 10:58:27 by Greg

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@FireTheLooser (Comment 1) : i don’t think i entirely agree. Of course it’s good to have a “watertight” contract (although I doubt something like this exists) and there are better and worse contracts.

But what if you have this very good contract and the other side still does not act in terms of it.

Comment 9, posted at 24.05.10 11:24:48 by rekinek

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@robdylan (Comment 28) : There’s only two player in that group that I really want to play for the Sharks, Jacques Fourie and…Mother Theresa. The others can stay where they are, no thank you very much. I like Sykes, Botes, Ruan “who ever we’ll play at 10″, Hargreaves, enough in there positions.

Comment 30, posted at 24.05.10 12:11:54 by Letgo

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I don’t like rumors, isn’t it illegal to make story’s up and then print it in a newspaper? Where has the integrity of the media gone? Everything has become gossip pieces. You can’t take anything you read serious anymore. I want to know if Ruan and John is staying!!!

I want to know where Jdv will go. Can anyone just tell me the truth. I’m very annoyed.

Comment 31, posted at 24.05.10 12:16:51 by Letgo

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@Letgo (Comment 31) : If it’s the professional era then fine, I get that players will leave, but can’t it all be done professionally. It’s always a mess.

Comment 32, posted at 24.05.10 12:18:39 by Letgo

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I have earned my CC selection…

Comment 33, posted at 24.05.10 12:20:15 by Letgo

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Just before the CC!!!

Comment 34, posted at 24.05.10 12:20:50 by Letgo

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@robdylan (Comment 28) : Nope, can’t be true, Mother Theresa has signed for the Lions, the only team interested in someone that late in their career

Comment 35, posted at 24.05.10 12:26:48 by Greg

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@Greg (Comment 8) : Not the security system, but the security company.

Btw, if you left the door open, do you really think the problem is with your security?

Comment 53, posted at 24.05.10 14:24:18 by FireTheLooser

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@Worcestershire Sauce (Comment 50) : I don’t think De Jongh is the best 12 YET, but as for his talent, Jean de Villiers might as well get used to wearing the black and white

Comment 54, posted at 24.05.10 14:27:25 by FireTheLooser

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@FireTheLooser (Comment 52) :
i did make A bank to change some of their contractual clauses – if this is what you ask. so it is quite doable.

Comment 55, posted at 24.05.10 14:35:37 by rekinek

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@FireTheLooser (Comment 54) : Lol not best yet – i was suggesting he has been the form 12 – especially in an SA context – Olivier is one dimensional – he used to offer more on attack – and now he shovels it out or crashes.

I think 5 inside centres that have have a season as good as de Jong would be:

Nonu, Olivier, Cross, Faingaa, Stanley

But i would easily at de Jong to that list he has had a great season !

Comment 62, posted at 24.05.10 18:04:35 by Hertford Highlander

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Contract or no Contract , Loophole or no loophole, I still think the way the Sharks have been going about their business is not in the spirit of things and that the biggest problem at the Sharks at the moment is the same embarrassment that occurred in Bok rugby, the paranoid underhand Streuli, who seems to have forgotten the purpose of the academy, discover young talent bring it to Durban and nurture it through to a position where it performs on the big stage and is not continually undermined by players being brought in above it , thus rendering it a useless nursery, because the players at the Academy will begin to lose hope!! Streuli should be chasing young talent, not people who are already established!! The Bulls are reaping what Meyer put in place abd have such a rich reserve they could afford to take a second string that most franchises would die for. Get rid of that idiot and return to the core values of developing young talent and you will return to the top!!

Comment 63, posted at 25.05.10 06:09:39 by Whindy

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@FireTheLooser (Comment 59) : Maybe not, but that would still not mean that the original perpetrator should go unpunished

Comment 64, posted at 25.05.10 10:27:00 by Greg

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